The Herald reports that “Sources close to Healey said Deval supporters camping out in Beverly recently ‘harassed’ the lieutenant governors children, ages 11 and 14, as the kids walked to a friends house. The kids were not harmed, but a source said they were upset by the incident.” HubPolitics, who have apparently given up on their neighbor Healey and assumed a new role as advisors to the Patrick campaign, recommend that Patrick apologize for the event as a way of making Healey look bad. (The Lt. Governor, alert readers will recall, refused to apologize for buying prison-style jumpsuits for some campaign workers and sending them to stake out the suburban home of Patrick’s Campaign manager John Walsh a few days ago. Once in position, the men shouted eipthets at Walsh’s 12-year old son, who was at home alone).
Confusingly, Aaron Margolis writes that he sees no need for Healey to apologize: “Frankly, I don’t see why a candidate needs to directly apologize for the behavior of passionate supporters.”
The Patrick campaign has responded as follows. If that did happen, we do not condone it. We would hope our volunteers would act more professionally, said campaign adviser Doug Rubin, according to the Herald.
If it did happen, those volunteers should be ashamed of themselves. If it did not happen, it is a good reminder of the ever-tenuous Republican (“we know they have weapons of mass destruction”) grip on reality, and their willingness to distort anything (cue yet another bitter screening of the “Garage” ad) to win elections.
Under any circumstances, as HubPolitics note, it highlights the fact that Healey has yet to apologize to John Walsh’s 12 year old for an event that everyone agrees really did happen (although, tragically, she did try to deny responsibility and then, caught, had to admit the Suburban Stakeout was organized by her team). Further evidence, if any were needed, of the large gaps, as it were, in Healey’s ability to lead.
